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Month: March 2015

Before they can be dipped, the coconut macaroons must be cooked to a toasty, hash-brown looking perfection

Growing up on the East Coast, we always looked forward to Spring because it meant freedom from snow (which would be black and dirty by April), and the Passover/Easter holidays, which themselves brought candy, days off from school and special visits with relatives. As far back as I can remember, Macaroons were one of the things I most looked forward to. The Manischewitz brand came in Coconut and Chocolate and later on, Chocolate Chip, and were, in my opinion, the top of the line until I tasted one from a bakery on Long Island called Bruce’s. Like the Wizard of Oz going to color from black and white, my world was rocked when I ate this magnificent morsel, which I instantly awarded the designation of Best Macaroon of All Time. They were shaped like a pregnant traffic cones and were dipped in chocolate. They were crispy on the outside like a coconut hash-brown, but moist on the inside. The chocolate was not too sweet and was perfect complement to the coconut. The chocolate had a sensational mouth-texture to it, requiring a firm bite but rewarding you with melty mouthful. Any pilgrimage to New York always included a trip to Bruce’s to get these incredible treats, and it was always with great woe that I noted they were gone, because it meant 1) I no longer had any of them and 2) I had gained 10 lbs.

I tried often to recreate them, but never succeeded. I had mostly given up on trying when I attended a seder and I tasted a macaroon that was just as good, if not better than my beloved Bruce’s. I begged for the recipe, which is here below, and I’m glad I did, because shortly after the next year’s Seder, Bruce’s inexplicably closed its doors.

The Bruce’s Bakery Cookbook. Worth getting, but doesn’t have the macaroon recipe

Had I not had this recipe, I’m sure I would have given up all hope of ever eating a chocolate dipped coconut macaroon ever again. The recipe is not complex, but does require ingredients you likely don’t have at home (condensed milk?). Using an ice cream scoop I found was very helpful, but I have yet to recreate the traffic cone shape of the original.

Though it is obvious, I must remind you that this is not health food. Some people might assume that if a dessert is flour-free and made with coconut that it could conceivably be healthier or lower in calories than other desserts. But in this case, that is absolutely not true. In fact, this is a true diet-buster, so proceed with caution. Make sure you have a place to bring these, because you don’t want them sitting on your counter, taunting you to eat every last, absolutely delicious one of them.